State’s Population Increases Only 1.4% : Demographics: Year-to-year growth rate is lowest since early 1970s. The slight gain to 31.7 million is attributed to the effects of the recession.

Reflecting the stubborn recession, California’s population totaled 31.7 million last July, posting only a 1.4% increase from a year earlier, the smallest gain in two decades, state demographers said Monday.

The net addition of only 442,000 people adhered to a pattern of declining growth rates that started with the recession in 1990, demographers said. It was the lowest growth rate since the economically troubled early 1970s and the smallest numerical change since 1979.

In a report of changes from mid-1992 to mid-1993, demographers of the Department of Finance also said that of the growth that did occur, 319,000 people, or about three-quarters of the total, were immigrants from other countries, a 5% increase over 1992.

Meantime, 252,000 people left the state, the second consecutive year that more people moved away than arrived from other states. However, there was still a total gain in people moving to California of 67,000, as a result of arriving foreigners. The rest of the increase was accounted for by births outstripping deaths, the department said.

The department said it earlier had anticipated an upsurge in population growth, but only slight growth occurred “due to the severity and duration of the economic recession.”

The population figures, which vary from U.S. Census estimates because different measuring methods are employed, are used by government policy-makers and businesses for making budget and financial decisions.

Continuing a trend, the Gold Rush country of Northern California remained the fastest-growing region at 2.7%, followed by the San Joaquin Valley at 2.6% and Southern California at 1.2%. The overall statewide rate was 1.4%.

Rural counties grew at the fastest rate, starting with tiny San Benito in Central California at 4.9%, Mono at 4.8% and Imperial at 4.5%.

Slow Growth for State

California’s population reached about 31.7 million people last July, an increase of only 1.4% over the previous year, with the lowest growth rate since the economically troubled early 1970s. Here is the growth in the state’s 10 largest counties:

COUNTY POPULATION GROWTH 1. Los Angeles 9,194,400 64,200 2. San Diego 2,664,800 28,500 3. Orange 2,576,000 42,800 4. Santa Clara 1,575,700 26,400 5. San Bernardino 1,575,600 24,600 6. Alameda 1,339,300 11,900 7. Riverside 1,338,600 34,700 8. Sacramento 1,125,100 16,500 9. Contra Costa 861,200 13,800 10. San Francisco 749,400 9,800

Note: Population is estimated as of July, 1993

Source: California Department of Finance